Tag: newspaper-releases

Posted on

Walker County Newspaper Added to Georgia Historic Newspapers Site

Walker County Messenger, 1880-1924, a new public library collection in the GHN.

This press release is part of a series of guest posts contributed by our partners at HomePLACE, a project of the Georgia Public Library Service. HomePLACE works with Georgia’s public libraries and related institutions to digitize historical content for inclusion in the Digital Library of Georgia.

ATLANTA, Ga — Georgia HomePLACE and the Digital Library of Georgia (DLG) are pleased to announce the addition of over 16,000 pages of the Walker County Messenger dating from 1880-1924 to the Georgia Historic Newspapers (GHN) website.  Consisting of over 2,100 searchable issues, the Walker County Messenger archive provides historical images that are both full-text searchable and can be browsed by date. Issues are freely available online through the GHN: https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu.

LaFayette’s first newspaper, the Walker County Messenger, was established by Captain Augustus McHan and his son E. A. McHan on July 27, 1877. In its first year, the Messenger was a six-column, four-page paper that sold for a yearly subscription of one dollar. The paper would serve as the legal organ for not only Walker County but also Chattooga, Catoosa and Dade counties until those regions founded their own newspapers in later years. Today, the Walker County Messenger continues to serve the citizens of LaFayette under the ownership of the Times-Journal Inc.

“Newspapers and libraries keep the pulse of a community, and both are critical to quality research. Access to information resources is one of the core values of Georgia’s public libraries, and we are so pleased to help support our partners at the Digital Library of Georgia in making these newspapers freely available online,” said State Librarian Julie Walker.  

Historic newspaper pages are consistently the most visited of any DLG sites. The GHN is compatible with all current browsers, and the newspaper page images can be viewed without the use of plug-ins or additional software downloads. Annually, DLG digitizes over 100,000 historic newspaper pages with funding from GALILEO, Georgia Public Library Service, and its partners and microfilms more than 200 current newspapers.

“The significance of our local newspaper being available for full-text searching and browsing by anyone with access to the internet cannot be overstated. We feel very fortunate that our local organ was selected by DLG and Georgia HomePLACE for digitization,” said Cherokee Regional Library System Director Lecia Eubanks.

The GHN includes some of the state’s earliest newspapers providing perspectives often missing in history books, including important African-American, Roman Catholic and Cherokee newspapers, as well as local and regional papers from across the state. All previously digitized newspapers are scheduled to be incorporated into the new GHN platform. Until that time, users may continue to access the existing online regional and city sites.

Georgia HomePLACE http://georgialibraries.org/homeplace/ is a project of the Georgia Public Library Service (GPLS) that encourages public libraries and related institutions across the state to participate in the Digital Library of Georgia. HomePLACE offers a highly collaborative model for digitizing primary source collections related to local history and genealogy. HomePLACE is supported with federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through GPLS, a unit of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

Based at the University of Georgia Libraries, the Digital Library of Georgia http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/ is a GALILEO initiative that collaborates with Georgia’s libraries, archives, museums and other institutions of education and culture to provide access to key information resources on Georgia history, culture and life. This primary mission is accomplished through the ongoing development, maintenance and preservation of digital collections and online digital library resources.  DLG also serves as Georgia’s service hub for the Digital Public Library of America and as the home of the Georgia Newspaper Project, the state’s historic newspaper microfilming project.

CONTACT: Angela Stanley, astanley@georgialibraries.org, (404) 235-7134

Share
Posted on

Unique view of Athens arts and music scene from 1987-2012 in Flagpole Magazine

Flagpole. (Athens, Ga.) 1987-current, October 01, 1987, Page 1

Flagpole Magazine, Athens’ popular alternative newsweekly is the latest addition to the Georgia Historic Newspapers Archive (GHN), at https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn94029049/, part of the Digital Library of Georgia, based at the University of Georgia Libraries. The release of this new collection coincides with the 30th anniversary of Flagpole.

Athens is unique as a small college town that became nationally prominent in the 1980s thanks to the emergence of breakthrough local music acts that were initially popularized during college radio’s heyday, and later gained traction on mainstream pop radio and MTV.

Since the late 1970s, dozens of clubs including the 40 Watt Club and the Georgia Theater have hosted music played by local bands such as Pylon, Limbo District, Love Tractor, the B-52s, and R.E.M. Jared Bailey and Dennis Greenia founded Flagpole Magazine in 1987 to cover news related to the city’s independent music scene; the publication has reported and recorded the history of the Athens music community through interviews, record reviews, concert listings, and advertisements.

Flagpole quickly expanded its content to include politics, art, theater, movies, books, food, local comics, and advice columns. Music coverage continued in the 1990s with Widespread Panic, Vic Chesnutt, Jack Logan, Jack O’ Nuts, Five-Eight, Hayride, and the Elephant 6 collective bands such as the Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, Of Montreal, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Circulatory System; bands on the Kindercore Records label such as Japancakes, Masters of the Hemisphere and the Sunshine Fix were also making their names. Throughout the 2000s, bands such as Dead Confederate, the Whigs, and alt-country bands such as the Drive-By Truckers have continued to thrive, as have annual music festivals such as AthFest and Popfest, which provide Athens venues for local, national, and international independent music acts.

For three decades, Flagpole has been a mirror on the local culture of Athens and its thriving arts scene. The publication remains independent and locally-owned, and is now edited and published by Pete McCommons, who joined the paper in 1993. Under the banner “Colorbearer of Athens, Georgia,” the Flagpole is distributed weekly and free of charge and has become a local institution and an irreplaceable source of news for local Athenians and music lovers alike.

The Flagpole online collection project, which began in 2014, is a collaborative venture between Flagpole, the Athens-Clarke County Library and the DLG.

Pete McCommons, co-publisher and editor of Flagpole notes: “Flagpole’s digital archives have been spotty in recent years. To have our complete archive available online again, thanks to the expertise of the Digital Library of Georgia and the hard work of the Athens Regional Library, is of great benefit to Flagpole—our staff as well as our readers and anybody researching Athens-oriented stories.”

Rikki Chesley, head of Archives and Special Collections for the Athens Regional Library System states: “Flagpole Magazine has been such an important part of Athens’ arts and music community for decades. Our staff went through years of microfilm to digitize every issue from the beginning to 2012. We are proud to partner with Flagpole and the Digital Library of Georgia to help make sure that this publication’s rich history is easily accessible to everyone.”

Athens music fans will be pleased to have full-text searching available for historic articles about music, politics, news, and feature stories that cover the city of Athens from 1987 to 2012. Flagpole issues from 2013 to the present are currently available at http://flagpole.com/

About the Athens-Clarke County Library

The Athens-Clarke County Library is located at 2025 Baxter Street, Athens. It is the headquarters of the Athens Regional Library System, which serves Athens-Clarke, Franklin, Madison, Oconee and Oglethorpe counties with 11 library branches. The mission of the Athens-Clarke County Libraries is to provide information and resources which address the needs of the community, foster enjoyment and a love of reading, and provide a repository of the history and culture of Athens-Clarke County. The Athens Regional Library System vision statement is, “Engaging Communities … Exceeding Expectations.” To learn more about the library system, its services and programs, visit http://www.athenslibrary.org.

About the Digital Library of Georgia

Based at the University of Georgia Libraries, the Digital Library of Georgia http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/ is a GALILEO initiative that collaborates with Georgia’s libraries, archives, museums, and other institutions of education and culture to provide access to key information resources on Georgia history, culture, and life. This primary mission is accomplished through the ongoing development, maintenance, and preservation of digital collections and online digital library resources.  DLG also serves as Georgia’s service hub for the Digital Public Library of America and as the home of the Georgia Newspaper Project, the state’s historic newspaper microfilming project.

Share